- A 14-Year-Old Boy’s Survival Story Inspired by the Siege of Mariupol Raises Final Development Funds on Kickstarter
- Kiu Studio’s Twice Games is running a campaign for 20 days until August 24 with a goal of $15,000.
- 97% ‘Very Positive’ rating on Steam demo… Official release on Steam and Xbox scheduled for the second half of 2026
Twigames, an indie game studio based in Kyiv, Ukraine, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to secure funds to finalize the development of its epic survival RPG , ‘Hollow Home’ .
The campaign runs for 20 days and ends on August 24. The fundraising goal is $15,000. ‘Hollow Home’ is scheduled to be released on Steam, the Microsoft Store (PC), and Xbox Series X and S in the second half of 2026.
The new game ‘Hollow Home’ is an isometric narrative-driven RPG set in Mariupol during the early stages of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The player lives day by day through the eyes of a 14-year-old boy named Maxim in a brutal war, and must make survival choices at every moment, such as how to spend time and who to ally with.
The game adopts a branching narrative and a multiple ending system where outcomes vary depending on the player’s decisions. It is characterized by enhancing immersion while portraying the tragedy of war and the weight of choices with a perspective that is by no means light.
Survival without weapons or combat, facing the consequences of choices
There is no combat or weapons in ‘Hollow Home’. Instead, players survive by managing relationships with others, securing resources, and bearing the consequences of difficult choices.
The city changes based on the player’s choices and actual historical events. New dangers and opportunities emerge, and some areas may become inaccessible. It also features resource management elements to maintain Maxim’s morale through crafting, cooking, and gathering supplies. The ability growth system provides the key to solving quests in new ways.
Twice Games initially planned to use Kickstarter as a means of funding development, but later secured a stable development foundation by signing a publishing agreement with Berlin-based publisher Crunchy Leaf Games. The funds raised from this campaign will be used for additional content and quality improvement.
Daily life in a destroyed city captured in oil painting-style visuals
The game depicts a city landscape where beauty and destruction coexist, using an isometric art style reminiscent of oil paintings. The portrait-centered dialogue presentation and dense narrative structure bring to mind titles like ‘Disco Elysium’ and ‘Planescape: Torment,’ while it is also compared to ‘This War of Mine’ for its focus on the survival of citizens amidst war without combat.
However, ‘Hollow Home’ distinguishes itself in that it was created based on the actual recorded memories of the Siege of Mariupol. While the characters are fictional, the city within the game and the events that took place there are rooted in real events and records.
Recreated by the development team based on over 600 records from firsthand experience of Mariupol
Twice Games, founded in 2015, is an independent game studio based in Kiu, and ‘Hollow Home’ is the studio’s first original title.
The concept for the game took shape as the development team evacuated to a small village in the Carpathian Mountains immediately following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. With the advice of journalists, the team spent several months collecting over 600 pieces of data illustrating changes in daily life, such as weather, power outages, and ATM shutdowns. Stories derived from the actual diaries of Mariupol citizens were also incorporated into the game.
“We started developing ‘Hollow Home’ in 2022 when the team evacuated to a small village in the Carpathian Mountains, and we have continued working on it steadily ever since, finally with the release just around the corner,” said Valerii Minenko, founder of Twigames.
He added, “I hope players experience what survival looks like for ordinary people when war strikes their city.”
Demo ‘Very Positive’ 97%… Multiple Game Show Awards
‘Hollow Home’ garnered attention at various gaming events from the development stage. At Games Gathering 2024, it won Best Conference Game and Game Star awards, and won the Nordic Games 2024 Pitch Battle. At Indie Cup Ukraine 2023, it won the Most Promising Game and Critics’ Choice awards.
The latest demo unveiled during Steam Next Fest is currently rated ‘Very Positive,’ with a 97% positive rating out of 42 reviews. The development team continues to communicate with users through the Steam community, official X, Discord, Facebook, YouTube, and more.
Instead of sensationally reproducing the horrors of the battlefield, ‘Hollow Home’ is a work that calmly sheds light on the daily lives and choices of ordinary people caught in the midst of gunfire.
The eyes of the industry and the public are focused on the meaningful journey toward the official release of this work, which originated from a horrific true record, wondering what kind of empathy and poignant resonance it will deliver to gamers worldwide through the medium of ‘games’.
Information regarding ‘Hollow Home’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Twigames (Kyiv, Ukraine) |
| Publisher | Crunchy Leaf Games (Berlin, Germany) |
| Genre | Epic Survival RPG (No Combat) |
| Release platform | PC (Steam, Microsoft Store), Xbox Series X|S |
| Scheduled for official release | second half of 2026 |
| Kickstarter period | July 27, 2026 – August 24, 2026 (20 days) |
| Kickstarter goal amount | $15,000 |
| Steam Review (Demo) | Very positive (97%, 42 cases) |
| Official Channel | Official Website, Discord, X, Facebook, YouTube |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
| Demo Page | Shortcut |
| Kickstarter page | Shortcut |
